For You, My Spring Camellia
by MargaritaDaemonelix
Summary: But thy eternal summer shall not fade. /business rivals AU, sequel to Nothing Personal.
1. pinot noir

**For context, please read _Nothing_** _**Personal**_**. **

* * *

It all ends with something like pinot noir and baked brie in the evening, and it all begins when Cloud asks her if she's okay.

Eve hasn't been _okay_ since she was twenty-one and in love. Eve hasn't seen _okay_ in her future since her son told her he wanted to be a lawyer.

(How ironic, she thinks, that he should take after his grandfather in that manner. Would Helputt Seiker be happy to know of his secret grandson?)

"Yes," she lies, through years of hidden grief and feathered half-truths and exactly one year's prescription of birth control. "I am alright, thank you."

Eve is an awful liar. Eve also knows that Cloud knows she's an awful liar.

She swallows down the pills of lies and guilt with her pinot noir, draining the glass and reaching for the bottle. Cloud stops her before she can take the stopper off, and she looks at him with all the ice she can muster.

"Do you want a divorce?" he asks softly, in that caring tone that he often uses when he really wants an answer out of her. Fatherly, kind, more like her actual father than anyone else she's ever met. Eight years her senior. Treasures her like a fragile glass sculpture, and dotes upon her son even though both she and he know he's not the father and that she has never loved him, even for a second.

Cloud is smart. He developed Empyrean's ZERO transportation system almost singlehandedly. He made headlines at the age of twenty for it. He's got a PhD and nearly twenty years of experience in the engineering field. No one can deny how accomplished he is.

But accomplished as he may be, Cloud isn't what Eve needs, and he certainly isn't what she wants.

No matter how much of an intellectual equal he may be, Cloud Mason is not a man that Eve wants to live out the rest of her days with.

"Yes," she says quietly. And then, "I'll deal with the media storm if you give me full custody of Nexus."

Cloud smiles. "Of course."

She knows she doesn't need to fight him. The boy was never his to begin with.

* * *

Chung has only just made himself his first espresso of the day when the doors to his office burst open and Echo trips on his carpet and falls face-first into his desk.

"Mr. Seiker," she gasps, grasping at his new Nasod Motors XYZ laptop, "the news."

She's prone to theatrics, but this is really something new. Chung raises an eyebrow and sips his coffee as she screams incoherently again and runs off in the direction of Lucy's office.

Calmly, Chung props his feet up on the empty garbage can hidden under his desk and slips his phone from his pocket. Echo's outburst had to be from the front page news, right?

He opens his news app. Reads the first headline on the front page.

Immediately hurls his phone at the wall and sinks in on himself, fighting back tears.

The message is clear. He doesn't have to wait anymore.

* * *

[BREAKING] Evangeline Nasod and Cloud Mason announce divorce

By Camilla Maxwell

ALTERA - The CEO of Nasod Motors and the creator of Empyrean's ZERO Transport have announced that they intend to divorce.

In a thread on Evangeline Nasod's official Twitter account, the couple expressed their intention to legally separate by the end of the month, followed by final divorce proceedings by the end of the year. Nasod cited "amicable but hindering circumstances" as reasons for their sudden separation. Mason later confirmed this on his own account, adding that while they were open in the relationship, the "manner in which [they] came together wasn't in [their] best interests", and has since led to their break despite seemingly no public expectation of the event.

Response to Nasod's original thread has caused the hashtags #EvangelineNasod, #CloudMason and #nasodmotors to trend in Elrios, Empyrean and Maple. Concerns in regards to their five year old son Nexus caused the hashtag #Nexus to trend briefly; however, Nasod stated later in a separate thread that she would be taking full custody of the boy and legally changing his last name after the divorce proceedings, leading some to speculate that the divorce may be taking place to protect the boy for whatever reason. The announcement has also resparked theories on Twitter in regards to Nexus's parentage, as many have pointed out that he more closely resembles the CEO of Seiker Inc., Prince Seiker. No official statement has been put forth to confirm or deny these claims.

More information to come as more light is shed on the situation.

08:23

* * *

"Nexus," Eve says, "we aren't leaving this house."

His chin is trembling. Eve has to remind herself, again and again, that her son is still so young, only five years old with stars in his eyes and every intention to become as great as his mother. "Nothing is changing except Cloud isn't going to live with us anymore," she says. "You don't have to be afraid."

He is still so young and thinks the world of her. Eve doesn't have the right to break that trust, not when he's seen her scream at Cloud about her sins and cry because she can't explain why she committed them. "Mama," he says, eyes wide, "is Cloud going away forever?"

"No, baby," she says. "Not forever. We can still visit him. But he won't be living with you and I anymore."

Not that Cloud really needs to. He complains regularly about having to leave his huge estate and lab in Empyrean. Elrios was never the right place for him, just as Empyrean was never a home to Eve. As soon as their separation gets finalized, he'll be moving back to Empyrean.

But Nexus doesn't need to know that yet.

"Can I give him something before he goes?" Nexus asks, and Eve's heart jumps out of her throat and dives into the void of her chest. "I want to make him a card."

"Of course, baby."

(Bearing him was the easy part. Raising him is so, so much harder.)

* * *

Eve's diet is mostly cheese and wine these days. After Cloud moves out, the penthouse gets a whole lot emptier and the fridge becomes home to a palette of fine cheeses that empties at an alarming rate.

"That's not healthy," her father chides as he looks in the fridge for cream to add to his coffee. "Eve, when's the last time you ate vegetables?"

"Last night," she argues. "I had some broccoli when I was making pasta for Nexus. He can vouch for me."

Adrian sighs. Astarte is playing with her grandson in the next room, no doubt using the time to plan out her merciless verbal beatdown of her daughter. "I'd really hoped you'd be happy with your marriage to Cloud."

Eve shakes her head. She hopes her father doesn't notice that the contents of her travel mug aren't actually coffee. "Father, I was never happy with the prospect of marrying him," she says, for what has to be the millionth time. "I appreciate that you kept my technological interests in mind when you introduced the two of us, but."

She pauses. It's not like she can just tell her father that she's been madly in love with her old flame from university since having to leave him to fulfill her tech-empire-destiny. "But?" her father prompts, curiosity lining his voice.

"But," she says, "some things just never worked out."

Her father studies her as she takes another long sip from her travel mug. "You've changed," he says, pausing next to her chair by the kitchen island to brush a loose strand of hair from her face. She only barely refrains from flinching as she remembers Chung doing the same. "And it isn't because of your son, or because you got married, or because you took over the company."

Eve huffs a smile against the mouth of her mug. "I've experienced a lot since I was a young girl," she says. "It was only natural that I changed to match those experiences."

"I'll hold you to it," he replies. "Oh, Eve?"

"Yes, Father?"

"Do hold off on the wine. You're making a horrible example for your son."

* * *

**A/N: IB exams are kicking my ass so I thought I might as well just release something I've been holding onto for a while**

**so uh this is just going to be a collection of miscellaneous oneshots and ideas I've never gotten the chance to explore because I run big stories and not much else apparently. yes there will be more of this particular au. updates will be sporadic.**

**the aus from which each oneshot belongs, along with any prior reading you might want to do to understand them, will be listed at the beginning of the chapter. I'll also do requests for any of my existing aus, but please don't be too specific with the requests - sometimes, the story might have already gone a different way.**

**also if you couldn't tell I'm a sucker for pinot noir and brie. especially brie.**

**~Marg**


	2. twitter as a bargaining chip

**Evangeline Nasod (a)EveNasod**

In light of my recent announcements with Cloud, I'd like to take this time to answer a few common questions.

Show this thread ↓

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

Firstly, in regards to our son, I will be Nexus's sole caregiver and I will be changing his last name shortly. This is in part due to Cloud moving back to Empyrean within this month to continue his research.

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

I ask that everyone please stop trying to take photos of my son. He is only five years old and yet I can barely let him play outside. Any more trespassers will be removed from our home and legal action will be taken.

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

Cloud and I separating means nothing new for the future of either of our companies, though. Both Nasod Motors and ZERO Transport will continue to pursue improvements to technology together to better our society.

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

Despite our separation, we are still partners in development. Nothing about that has changed whatsoever, and we look forward to future production.

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

There are many factors behind our separation and divorce, many of which are highly personal. For those that wish to speculate, I encourage you to peruse a tabloid magazine and join in the theorizing.

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

The main point that I hope you take away from this is that Cloud and I are still on amicable terms, and we hope our divorce will not impact your opinion of our companies and products. /END THREAD

See Replies ↓

**Aisha Landar ****(a)magicmirror**

Replying to **(a)****EveNasod**

wow, the ice princess herself finally speaks on twitter

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

Replying to **(a)magicmirror**

I do use my Twitter account to make announcements sometimes, Aisha. Besides, I told Cloud I would deal with the media portion of our divorce.

**Aisha Landar ****(a)magicmirror**

Replying to **(a)****EveNasod**

oh so you used your twitter as a bargaining chip in your divorce

**Evangeline Nasod ****(a)****EveNasod**

Replying to **(a)magicmirror**

Yes, and I'll look forward to you using yours as a bargaining chip when you and Elsword have a second child.

**Aisha Landar ****(a)magicmirror**

Replying to **(a)****EveNasod**

HHHH YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT EVE

* * *

"You can't just call me out like that on Twitter," is the first thing that Aisha says when she strolls through the door, swinging her umbrella wildly. Eve winces as it sends water droplets flying onto her walls, but Aisha seems to pay no attention as she slips off her shoes into a corner. "And where Elsword could see it! For shame."

"It had to be done," Eve says gravely. "I had to throw off the conspiracy theorists one way or another."

Aisha snorts. "Too late. They've already realized that I'm mutuals with both you and Chung. I've had to block twelve reporters today alone."

"Oh."

"They've already started editing your Wikipedia page," Aisha reports, tossing her umbrella aside and dropping her handbag on Eve's kitchen counter. "The Wikipedia staff had to freeze your page because of all the editing going on. I hope you know what you're getting into."

Eve groans and slumps down into the nearest barstool. "Remind me why I haven't hired you as my actual media representative yet," she mumbles.

"Because you love me too much to subject me to that kind of hell," Aisha says sweetly, "and also because I have a four-year old at home to watch over."

"Would you like to bring Elian over to play with Nexus one of these days?" Eve asks. "I can't let Nexus play outside due to the paparazzi, and he has been horribly lonely as of lately."

"Oh, that's a good idea!" The fridge rattles as Aisha opens it, grimaces, extracts a single wrinkled apple and slams the door shut. "And you say I'm the one who should be having another child. It would do your poor Nexus some good to have a younger sibling."

Eve makes a face at her, scrunching her nose up in the way that Chung used to call cute. "Well, I'm not exactly on speaking terms with his father, per se."

"Tragic." Aisha bites into the apple with only the slightest amount of gusto. "I see you've toned down the wine consumption."

"I have," Eve says airily. "Father reminded me that drowning my mistakes in alcohol is only a surefire way to make drunken shrimp, so instead I've been turning back to my trusted _yuanyang_." She reaches for her travel mug, which has had the wine stains thoroughly scoured out of it. "Besides, it was starting to get unhealthy. I'd blame it on Cloud for stocking the house with so much wine, but I know better than that."

"Oh, Eve." Aisha tries to smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Do you need to get counselling? I'm sure Rena can—"

"Don't want to burden her."

"I get that it's painful," Aisha continues, "but you should talk to him. You've left him waiting a long time, Eve. It's about time to gave him an answer."

"I know," Eve says. "But I really don't have the courage to try."

* * *

"_Mei, where are you?"_

Eve leans against the doorway as Nexus and Elian sit on the edges of their seats, wielding carrot sticks and grapefruit wedges while they watch _Totoro_. "Don't chew with your mouth open, Nexus," she says, and her son's mouth instantly snaps shut as he bounces in place excitedly. "Are you enjoying the movie?"

Nexus gulps down his snack and grins brightly at her. "Yes, Mama! I like the Catbus best!"

The doorbell rings, and both the boys and Eve snap to attention. "Oh, guess our ride's here," Aisha chortles, a little _too_ excitedly, rising from her seat and running for the door. "Elian, sweetheart, eat your carrot sticks and let's go, okay?"

She opens the door, and Elsword steps in, taking his hands out of his hoodie pocket so he can scoop Elian up in his arms when the young boy comes running at him. "Aw, didja miss me, champ?" He nods to Eve with a grin. "I brought someone with me, hope you don't mind."

And Eve does mind, very much, when Chung Seiker steps across the threshold into her house.

Her first thought is to kick him out of her house, just to not deal with this whole thing while her son has to witness it, but then she realizes that Chung looks just as confused and overwhelmed as she feels, and she realizes that their friends _may have_ decided to take matters into their own hands.

Besides, Nexus is every bit his son as he is hers, so there isn't any reason she shouldn't let him in. "Chung," she says, as pleasantly as she doesn't feel, "come on in. It has been a while."

And there it is, the iron wall. Eve can _feel_ the instinctive change in her voice, the switch that flips when she has to speak to Chung. It's been quite some time since their last meeting, given the board of directors hasn't convened in months now. Her voice clams up as she tries to say something, anything more casual than _it has been a while_. It doesn't do as she says.

Thankfully, Chung spares her the agony of the wait. "Oh, no, I couldn't," he says, shaking his head and waving away the thought. The beginnings of a smile arise in Eve's heart as she thinks of how his cute little mannerisms haven't left him over the years. "You've probably got tons of things to clean up, and I'd only be a hindrance."

"Well, you really can't be going anywhere if Aish and I don't leave," Elsword declares, "since I drove you here. And I'm gonna go finish watching Totoro with Elian and Nexus. So you might as well stay a while."

He plunks himself down on the sofa next to Elian, while Aisha holds back a laugh and waves one hand dismissively. "We'll watch the boys. Try to get along, you two."

The fact that she swings the child safety door shut behind her on the way to the living room is really the final blow.

Eve takes a quick swig from her travel mug. The burn of Earl Grey and her favourite dark roast against the base of her tongue is bitter and painful. "So," she says.

"So," Chung echoes. "How's it been?"

"Restless, to say the least." She tries for a smile, fails, and sets her travel mug aside. "A bit difficult raising a five year old, although Nexus is much better-behaved than many children I've encountered."

Chung hums pleasantly. "He takes after his mother."

She's twenty-one, saying goodbye at his doorstep and preparing to move back to Altera. She's twenty-eight, alone in her hospital room with a warm bundle in her arms and wondering if her son will ever know his father. She's thirty-three, staring down the love of her life in her kitchen and pretending to be a stranger.

She's Eve, and she wonders if she'll make another mistake that will follow her to the grave, another regret that will haunt her for the rest of her miserable time on this mortal coil.

"I missed you," she says quietly, and Chung's gaze immediately snaps to her. "It has been a long time since we last truly got the chance to speak."

Chung huffs a laugh, but it's weak and barely has any humour to it. "It really has, huh."

She holds eye contact with him for all of five seconds before she has to look away. Despite the fact that Nexus very clearly inherited his beautiful eyes from his father, Chung's eyes are in a shade of their own, a brilliant blue that still strikes warmth into her chest years after she first saw them.

"I'll fix you a drink," she says. "Earl Grey good for you?"

"Sure." He runs a hand through his hair, through that awful, horribly unprofessional side-shave of his that Eve refuses to admit is kind of hot. The majority of it still sticks up skywards, because despite Eve's best efforts of over a decade ago he still hasn't learned of the wonders of hair gel.

Right. It's been over a decade since they met, since their timeless romance first blossomed. She fills the kettle and lets it click into its stand before hitting the on button and reaching for her cabinet of mugs. It feels oddly empty with Cloud's shitty dad joke mugs gone.

She finds her favourite mug in the cabinet after some searching, and grabs a random one from some old networking event for Chung. His eyes grow fond as he sees the telltale colouring on hers. "Did Nexus paint that one for you?" he asks wistfully.

"He did. He wanted to surprise me for my birthday." She hesitates, wonders if she should say more, or would it be crossing a line? "Cloud brought him to a pottery studio for him to make it."

"Ah."

Eve is no stranger to planning. She circumvented pregnancy for the whole first year of her marriage. She has planned, time and time again, for things to line up, for Chung to visit her office at _just_ the right time, for her life to have some semblance of order. She is the CEO of Nasod Motors, after all; she's got to keep up appearances.

No amount of planning, _nothing_ could have prepared her for Chung's sudden appearance in her kitchen.

The water boils just as she tosses a teabag in each of their mugs. She pours the water over the teabags slowly, watching the leaves inside soak into a lovely dark maroon. Steam fills the kitchen in an instant. Some tea sloshes over the side of the mugs as she brings them over to the kitchen island. She frankly can't feel the burns anymore.

"Thank you," Chung says, accepting his mug. She winces as he takes a straight swig of the (boiling hot!) tea, and then remembers that he apparently drinks straight espressos now like a heathen, like Aisha does when she comes over to gossip and mope. "What brand is this?"

"Twinings." She offers him a lopsided grin; it's the first smile she's been able to conjure since he arrived. "It was in your gift basket, and I got attached."

"It's been nearly six years since I gave you that gift basket, and you still remember it?" Chung asks, amusement lining his voice. "I bet you still have the actual basket."

Eve feels herself turn red, and blames it on the tea. "I do not," she protests, "I gave it to Aisha and Elsword when I gave them their baby shower gift."

"Ah, I knew only one person could have that kind of taste in baby onesies." He leans back in his seat, one arm slung casually over the back of the seat, and that's when Eve realizes he's not all gussied up for work, not like he usually is. It's just his old blue hoodie, the incredibly soft one that she'd stolen and worn a million times during their younger days. "Guess what I brought them."

"Can't say," she drawls, "was it the Seiker Industries custom one-of-a-kind stroller?"

Chung winks with a smirk, and Eve can't help but fake a swoon.

This feels right. It feels like they're twenty again, going on ramen dates and sitting on the dock throwing bread at the ducks. Eve still hides the amber necklace he bought her on their first date at the museum under her sweater. Cloud once asked her why she wears it everywhere. She didn't have the heart to answer him.

The easy way they slip into conversation, though, is all too familiar to Eve. She's missed this—talking to Chung about tech, this time not schoolwork but business, chatting about every which thing that comes across their minds. Neither of them have to mention Cloud, or the divorce proceedings, or the so-called rivalry between their companies. It's pleasant.

"Nexus recently received a very nice present for his fifth birthday," she says. It's amazing to her how Chung's eyes light up with delight the moment she mentions his presents. "A sparkling miniature motorcycle, painted bright blue with gold highlights. It's so cute to watch him ride it around the house," she adds wistfully.

"Really." Chung downs the last of his tea and smiles at her. "A miniature motorcycle. Why, I'd never entertain the thought."

"Mmhmm. I'm certain the toymaker must have put a lot of heart into it," she says, a little teasingly. This kind of banter is her favourite kind—they talk in circles around each other until one of them gives in. They laugh. They talk. It's one of the enjoyments of life that she's missed since leaving him.

"Well, I'm sure the _mysterious _toymaker wanted Nexus to enjoy the gift," Chung says, "It must have been difficult to shrink an actual motorcycle to child size, after all."

"I know. And to implement such a powerful, compact Disfrozen into its core! The toymaker is truly dedicated to his craft."

"Well, perhaps the toymaker asked his friend who owns a toy store for help," he says, which is interesting, Eve doesn't recall any of their friends from university having gone into toymaking as a trade. She'd like to meet this new friend sometime. "Perhaps the toymaker thinks himself an amateur who needs a bit of guidance once in a while."

"And what kind of guidance do you think this amateur toymaker needs?" she teases, tipping his chin up with two dainty fingers. Oh yes, she's missed this alright, the friction of touch and the heat that grows in her stomach. "A bit of guided experimentation, no?"

The credit music begins to play over in the living room. Eve jolts away from Chung in an instant as Nexus and Elian start to cheer for the movie. "Is the movie over?" she calls, leaving her seat to peer into the living room. The coffee table is a mess, the snacks are all gone, but both boys look happy. "Ah, so you are."

"That was a good movie, Mama!" Nexus laughs, running into her waiting arms and allowing himself to be hoisted over the safety gate. "The Catbus is my favourite!" He pauses in confusion, squinting at the man sitting by the kitchen island. "Mama, who's that?"

Chung's gaze is unreadable. He tilts his head in curiosity, like he's waiting for Eve to speak. _It's your decision to make_, he seems to be saying. _Do you want to tell him?_

"This is my very good friend," Eve says (and swears she can hear Aisha sigh in exasperation in the living room), "and he's the CEO of Seiker Industries. Remember when I told you about the Disfrozen in your motorcycle?"

Nexus's eyes light up. "Are you Mama's best friend?" he asks, his face the epitome of childhood innocence. Eve wants to sob.

"Well, we haven't seen each other in a long, long time," Chung says, "but I'd like to think we're very good friends." He grins. "My name's Prince Seiker, but you can call me Chung."

"Chung." Nexus smiles too; this is where he takes after Eve, the softer smiles and elegant words. "Are you going?"

"Sorry buddy, Elian's parents are taking me home. I don't live far from here, though." He holds his fist out, like he's waiting for Nexus to bump it. "Fistbump?"

Nexus obliges gleefully, smacking his own tiny fist against Chung's much larger one. "Bye-bye," he says, waving.

"Stop by and come play sometime," Eve says, unsure of what else she _can_ say. "You can tell Nexus about your father."

Chung laughs. "Oh yeah, my dad's a lawyer." This elicits another noise of joy from Nexus, who claps happily. "I'll stop by sometime during the week, as long as it's okay with your mom."

"Of course," Eve says, and then they're waving goodbye as Chung and Elsword and Aisha and Elian leave, and not without a wink from Aisha and a commiserating smirk from Elsword.

"Mama," Nexus says, his lips and face decorated with carrot stains, "I think Chung is super cool."

Eve sighs. "Me too, baby, me too."

* * *

**A/N: ffn is fickle in that it refuses to let me put the at symbol so i had to make do**

**i like to think that in this au, both Eve and Chung are still pining fools but neither of them know how to express it because they're fools and also it's been Literally Years**

**this entire au is like a pet project and honestly i adore it to bits, and whenever i return to it i end up writing like massive chunks of it, which leads me to my next mini-announcement! this fic is just gonna be for this au now. i'm sorry, i am Awful at keeping my mind but i think it'll be better this way in terms of organization**

**~Marg**


End file.
